A former pilot has branded the Air India plane crash a "puzzle" after a flight carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed near Ahmedabad airport this morning.

The flight crashed whilst en route to London prompting the veteran pilot to suggest investigators should "consider the possibility of external interference."

The Boeing aircraft, flight AI171 bound for London Gatwick, crashed in the Meghaninagar area shortly after takeoff at approximately 2pm local time.

Former pilot Terry Tozer said: "I mean, it would be very unusual for such a modern aircraft to suffer a major technical failure. It's very hard to know what the reasons for this would be at this point.

The former pilot said that the crash is a "puzzle"

"All public transport aircraft are capable of sustaining a major engine failure at the most critical point of take off and still continuing safely, clearing all obstacles. So, it is very unusual for something like this to happen to a major transport aircraft.

"Not every country regulates as well as others. But it's far too early to speculate about what might have caused this.

"As I say, the aircraft should have been able to take a fairly substantial failure and continue take off safely, so it is a puzzle why something so catastrophic happened.

"It would have probably climbed to 1,000ft or more, and it’s very hard to understand why a modern public transport aircraft would literally fall out of the sky in that fashion.

"There could be multiple reasons, but at the moment, it’s pure speculation. You have to consider the possibility of external interference, although that is very, very rare. We really won’t know until there’s more information."

The aircraft was observed losing altitude rapidly before crashing in the densely populated Meghaninagar area.

Emergency services were immediately dispatched to the scene, where thick black smoke could be seen billowing across the neighbourhood.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai confirmed that authorities were "acquiring details about the casualties", whilst fire officer Jayesh Khadia reported that multiple fire tenders had been deployed to combat the blaze.

Several injured passengers were transported to the city civil hospital, according to officials at the scene.

Air India released a brief statement on X confirming the incident: "Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident today, 12 June 2025. At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest."

Thick plumes of black smoke engulfed the city

Emergency responders have launched extensive rescue and evacuation operations at the crash site.

Camera crews who accessed the area captured footage of the wreckage, with emergency teams working to extract survivors from the debris.

The scale of casualties remains uncertain, with authorities yet to confirm specific numbers.

Officials indicated that whilst several injured individuals had been transported to medical facilities, the full extent of the tragedy was still being assessed.

The crash has prompted a major emergency response, with multiple agencies coordinating efforts at the scene.

Firefighting teams continue to battle the blaze that erupted following the impact, whilst medical personnel tend to survivors.